U.S. patent number 7,649,639 [Application Number 10/939,504] was granted by the patent office on 2010-01-19 for device usage limiting method, apparatus and program.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Atsuhiro Itoh, Makoto Oshiumi.
United States Patent |
7,649,639 |
Oshiumi , et al. |
January 19, 2010 |
Device usage limiting method, apparatus and program
Abstract
A usage limiting method for a device executing a job generated
by a driver, in which a driver corresponding to a device manages a
usage state of the device, and when the usage state agrees with a
predetermined condition, the driver stops generation of a job
corresponding to the device.
Inventors: |
Oshiumi; Makoto (Saitama,
JP), Itoh; Atsuhiro (Saitama, JP) |
Assignee: |
Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. (Tokyo,
JP)
|
Family
ID: |
34921777 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/939,504 |
Filed: |
September 14, 2004 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20050200880 A1 |
Sep 15, 2005 |
|
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Mar 12, 2004 [JP] |
|
|
2004-070919 |
Jun 24, 2004 [JP] |
|
|
2004-186425 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
358/1.13;
719/321; 399/80; 399/79; 358/1.16; 358/1.14 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F
3/1222 (20130101); G06F 3/1285 (20130101); G06F
21/608 (20130101); G06F 3/1239 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06F
15/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;358/1.13,1.14,1.16,1.15
;399/79,80 ;719/321 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A 2001-117737 |
|
Apr 2001 |
|
JP |
|
A 2001-306278 |
|
Nov 2001 |
|
JP |
|
Primary Examiner: Williams; Kimberly A
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Oliff & Berridge, PLC
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A usage limiting method for a device executing a job generated
by a driver, wherein: a driver corresponding to a device manages a
usage state of the device, and when the usage state agrees with a
predetermined condition, the driver stops generation of a job
corresponding to the device, and the usage state is the number of
jobs issued by the driver to the device, and when the number of
jobs reaches a predetermined number, the driver stops the
generation of the job corresponding to the device.
2. A usage limiting method for a device executing a job generated
by a driver, wherein: a driver corresponding to a device manages a
usage state of the device, and when the usage state agrees with a
predetermined condition, the driver stops generation of a job
corresponding to the device, and the generation of the job is
stopped by deleting the driver.
3. A usage limiting method for a device executing a job generated
by a driver, wherein the device manages a usage state of each
driver for the device and, when the usage state agrees with a
predetermined condition, the device rejects execution of a job sent
from a corresponding driver, and the usage state is the number of
jobs issued to the device by the individual drivers, and the device
rejects execution of a job sent from a driver which has issued a
predetermined number of jobs.
4. A usage limiting method for a device executing a job generated
by a driver, wherein the device manages a usage state of each
driver for the device and, when the usage state agrees with a
predetermined condition, the device rejects execution of a job sent
from a corresponding driver, and the device notifies a deletion
instruction to the driver which has issued the job when the
execution of the job is rejected, and the driver having received
the deletion instruction deletes the driver itself.
5. A usage limiting method for a device executing a job generated
by a driver, wherein a management device manages a usage state of
each driver for a device, and when the usage state agrees with a
predetermined condition, the management device deletes a
corresponding driver from a terminal device in which the driver is
installed, and the usage state is the number of jobs issued to the
device by the individual drivers, and the management device deletes
a driver which has issued a predetermined number of jobs from the
terminal device in which the driver is installed.
6. A usage limiting method for a device executing a job generated
by a driver, wherein a management device manages a usage state of
each driver for a device, and when the usage state agrees with a
predetermined condition, the management device deletes a
corresponding driver from a terminal device in which the driver is
installed, and the usage state is users of the driver, and when a
user is not contained in user information on the users allowed to
use the device, the management device deletes a corresponding
driver from the terminal device in which the driver is
installed.
7. A usage limiting method for a device executing a job generated
by a driver, wherein a management device manages a usage state of
each driver for a device, and when the usage state agrees with a
predetermined condition, the management device deletes a
corresponding driver from a terminal device in which the driver is
installed, and the usage state is the number of pages printed by
the device which is made to print by the individual drivers, and
the management device deletes a driver which has issued a
predetermined number of pages from the terminal device in which the
driver is installed.
8. A usage limiting method for a device executing a job generated
by a driver, wherein a management device manages a usage state of
each driver for a device, and when the usage state agrees with a
predetermined condition, the management device deletes a
corresponding driver from a terminal device in which the driver is
installed, and the driver is deleted by sending a driver deletion
instruction to the terminal device.
9. A usage limiting apparatus for a device executing a job
generated by a driver, comprising: a usage state management unit
for managing a usage state of the device by the driver; and a job
generation stop unit for stopping the generation of a job by the
driver when the usage state managed by the usage state management
unit agrees with a predetermined condition, wherein: the usage
state is the number of jobs issued to the device by the driver; and
the job generation stop unit stops the generation of a job by the
driver when the number of jobs issued by the driver reaches a
predetermined number.
10. A usage limiting apparatus for a device executing a job
generated by a driver, comprising: a usage state management unit
for managing a usage state of the device by the driver; and a job
generation stop unit for stopping the generation of a job by the
driver when the usage state managed by the usage state management
unit agrees with a predetermined condition, wherein the job
generation stop unit stops the generation of a job by the driver by
deleting the driver.
11. A device that executes a job generated by a driver, the device
comprising: a usage state management unit for managing a usage
state of the device of each driver of a plurality of drivers; and a
job execution rejection unit for rejecting the execution of a job
sent from a corresponding driver among the plurality of drivers
when the usage state managed by the usage state management unit
agrees with a predetermined condition, wherein: the usage state is
the number of jobs issued to the device by the individual drivers;
and the job execution rejection unit rejects the execution of a job
sent from the driver which has issued a predetermined number of
jobs.
12. A device that executes a job generated by a driver, the device
comprising: a usage state management unit for managing a usage
state of the device of each driver of a plurality of drivers; and a
job execution rejection unit for rejecting the execution of a job
sent from a corresponding driver among the plurality of drivers
when the usage state managed by the usage state management unit
agrees with a predetermined condition, wherein the job execution
rejection unit notifies a deletion instruction to the driver which
has issued the job when the execution of the job is rejected.
13. A usage limiting apparatus for a device executing a job
generated by a driver, comprising: a usage state management unit
for managing a usage state of each driver to the device; and a
driver delete unit for deleting a corresponding driver from a
terminal device in which the driver is installed when the usage
state managed by the usage state management unit agrees with a
predetermined condition, wherein: the usage state is the number of
jobs issued to the device by the individual drivers; and the driver
delete unit deletes the driver which has issued a predetermined
number of jobs from the terminal device in which the driver is
installed.
14. A usage limiting apparatus for a device executing a job
generated by a driver, comprising: a usage state management unit
for managing a usage state of each driver to the device; and a
driver delete unit for deleting a corresponding driver from a
terminal device in which the driver is installed when the usage
state managed by the usage state management unit agrees with a
predetermined condition, wherein: the usage state is users of the
driver; and the driver delete unit deletes a corresponding driver
from the terminal device in which the driver is installed when a
user of the driver is not contained in user information on the
users allowed to use the device.
15. A usage limiting apparatus for a device executing a job
generated by a driver, comprising: a usage state management unit
for managing a usage state of each driver to the device; and a
driver delete unit for deleting a corresponding driver from a
terminal device in which the driver is installed when the usage
state managed by the usage state management unit agrees with a
predetermined condition, wherein: the usage state is the number of
pages printed by the device which is made to print by the
individual drivers; and the driver delete unit deletes the driver
which has issued a job for a predetermined number of pages from the
terminal device in which the driver is installed.
16. A usage limiting apparatus for a device executing a job
generated by a driver, comprising: a usage state management unit
for managing a usage state of each driver to the device; and a
driver delete unit for deleting a corresponding driver from a
terminal device in which the driver is installed when the usage
state managed by the usage state management unit agrees with a
predetermined condition, wherein the driver delete unit deletes the
driver by sending a driver deletion instruction to the terminal
device.
17. A computer readable recording medium storing a program
corresponding to a device driver for a device that executes a job
generated by the driver, the program comprising instructions for
causing a computer to execute: usage state management processing
for managing a usage state of the device by the driver; and job
generation stop processing for stopping the generation of a job by
the driver when the usage state managed by the usage state
management processing agrees with a predetermined condition,
wherein: the usage state is the number of jobs issued to the device
by the driver; and the job generation stop processing is processing
to stop the generation of a job by the driver when the number of
jobs issued by the driver has reached a predetermined number.
18. A computer readable recording medium storing a program
corresponding to a device driver for a device that executes a job
generated by the driver, the program comprising instructions for
causing a computer to execute: usage state management processing
for managing a usage state of the device by the driver; and job
generation stop processing for stopping the generation of a job by
the driver when the usage state managed by the usage state
management processing agrees with a predetermined condition,
wherein the job generation stop processing stops the generation of
a job by the driver by deleting the driver.
19. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for a
device that executes a job generated by a driver, the program
comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute: usage
state management processing for managing a usage state of a device
of each driver of a plurality of drivers; and job execution
rejection processing for rejecting the execution of a job sent from
a corresponding driver among the plurality of drivers when the
usage state managed by the usage state management processing agrees
with a predetermined condition, wherein: the usage state is the
number of jobs issued to the device by the individual drivers; and
the job execution rejection processing is processing to reject the
execution of a job sent from the driver which has issued a
predetermined number of jobs.
20. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for a
device that executes a job generated by a driver, the program
comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute: usage
state management processing for managing a usage state of a device
of each driver of a plurality of drivers; and job execution
rejection processing for rejecting the execution of a job sent from
a corresponding driver among the plurality of drivers when the
usage state managed by the usage state management processing agrees
with a predetermined condition, wherein the job execution rejection
processing notifies a deletion instruction to the driver which has
issued the job when the execution of the job is rejected.
21. A computer readable recording medium storing a usage limiting
program for a device that executes a job generated by a driver, the
program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute:
usage state management processing for managing a usage state of
each driver of a plurality of drivers for a device; and driver
delete processing for deleting a corresponding driver from a
terminal device in which the driver is installed when the usage
state managed by the usage state management processing agrees with
a predetermined condition, wherein: the usage state is the number
of jobs issued to the device by the individual drivers; and the
driver delete processing is processing to delete the driver which
has issued a predetermined number of jobs from the terminal device
in which the driver is installed.
22. A computer readable recording medium storing a usage limiting
program for a device that executes a job generated by a driver, the
program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute:
usage state management processing for managing a usage state of
each driver of a plurality of drivers for a device; and driver
delete processing for deleting a corresponding driver from a
terminal device in which the driver is installed when the usage
state managed by the usage state management processing agrees with
a predetermined condition, wherein: the usage state is users of the
driver; and the driver delete processing is processing to delete a
corresponding driver from the terminal device in which the driver
is installed when a user of the driver is not contained in user
information on the users allowed to use the device.
23. A computer readable recording medium storing a usage limiting
program for a device that executes a job generated by a driver, the
program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute:
usage state management processing for managing a usage state of
each driver of a plurality of drivers for a device; and driver
delete processing for deleting a corresponding driver from a
terminal device in which the driver is installed when the usage
state managed by the usage state management processing agrees with
a predetermined condition, wherein: the usage state is the number
of pages printed by the device which is made to print by the
individual drivers; and the driver delete processing is processing
to delete the driver which has issued a job of a predetermined
number of pages from the terminal device in which the driver is
installed.
24. A computer readable recording medium storing a usage limiting
program for a device that executes a job generated by a driver, the
program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute:
usage state management processing for managing a usage state of
each driver of a plurality of drivers for a device; and driver
delete processing for deleting a corresponding driver from a
terminal device in which the driver is installed when the usage
state managed by the usage state management processing agrees with
a predetermined condition, wherein the driver delete processing
deletes the driver by sending a driver deletion instruction to the
terminal device.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device usage limiting method,
apparatus and program, and more particularly to a device usage
limiting method, apparatus and program which limit the use of the
device according to a use condition of the device.
2. Description of Related Art
With the spread of networks in these years, various types of
devices such as printers, facsimiles and scanners come to
correspond to the networks and have many occasions of commonly used
by plural users.
The devices corresponding to the networks have an advantage that
plural users can use them but also have a possibility that a user
who is desirably restricted the use of them from a management
viewpoint can use them. Therefore, there have been proposed many
technologies of limiting the use of such a device. Among such
technologies, there is a system that each user can use a ticket
issued by a server limiting printing to print within the limitation
determined for each user (e.g., Japanese Patent Application
Laid-Open No. 2001-117737).
Where the device is allowed to be used by many users, the
individual users are often charged. Especially, where an indefinite
number of users are allowed to use the device, a prepaid type
charging system is often employed.
As the prepaid type charging, it is general to use a method that a
user ID is issued to a user who wants to use the device, and an
access volume corresponding to a prepaid amount is managed in
association with the user ID. This method requires a management
server for managing the user ID and the access volume.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-306278 describes a
print system capable of automatically deleting an installed driver
after completion of printing.
Where the use of a device such as a printer is limited and if a
user who is not allowed to use the device happens to install a
device driver of the device in error or if a user installs a device
driver of the device before the device usage limit is implemented
and later is not registered as a user allowed to use the device,
the device driver remains installed in a terminal device such as a
PC (personal computer) to be a client unless the device driver is
uninstalled by the user. In such a case, the user might erroneously
operate the device to use it.
There may be a user who intentionally uses a usage limited device.
In such a case, unnecessary data is sent to a network if the device
is an output device such as a printer.
Therefore, it is not desirable for the user to operate erroneously
or intentionally so to use the device of which use by the user is
limited.
Where a prepaid system is employed to bill the user for use of the
device, a management server is often necessary to manage the user
ID or the like. Therefore, even when charging processing is
employed for a small-scale system having a small number of users or
a system temporarily used at an event hole or the like, the
management server is necessary, and its operation involves a large
amount of costs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in view of the above
circumstances and provides a device usage limiting method,
apparatus and program that can prohibit a user who is limited the
usage of a device from operating to use the device.
An aspect of the present invention is a usage limiting method for a
device executing a job generated by a driver, wherein a driver
corresponding to a device manages a usage state of the device, and
when the usage state agrees with a predetermined condition, the
driver stops generation of a job corresponding to the device.
Another aspect of the present invention is a usage limiting method
for a device executing a job generated by a driver, wherein the
device manages a usage state of each driver for the device and,
when the usage state agrees with a predetermined condition, the
device rejects execution of a job sent from a corresponding
driver.
According to the present invention, a device can be prevented from
being used by a user who is not allowed to use it, and intentional
misuse of the device by the user can be prevented.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail
based on the following figures, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the network
according to Example 1;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional structure of a
device driver 10 which is installed on a terminal device 1 and a
functional structure of a device 2;
FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing a flow of management processing of
the device driver in Example 1;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a functional structure of a
device driver 210 which is installed in a terminal device
corresponding to the terminal device 1 and a functional structure
of a device 202 corresponding to the device 2;
FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a flow of management processing of
the device driver in Example 2;
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the network
in Example 3;
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a functional structure of a
device driver 410 which is installed in a terminal device 401 and a
functional structure of a management device 403;
FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing a flow of management processing of
the device driver in Example 3;
FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a functional structure of a
device driver 610 which is installed in a terminal device
corresponding to the terminal device 401 and a functional structure
of a management device 603 corresponding to the management device
403;
FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing a flow of management processing of
the device driver in Example 4;
FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a functional structure of the
printer driver in Example 5;
FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing a flow of an operation of a printer
driver 1010;
FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing a flow of an operation of the
printer driver 1010 when the printer driver 1010 has a delete
processing section 1016;
FIG. 14 is a flow chart showing a flow of an operation of the
printer driver 1010 in Example 6;
FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing a flow of an operation of the
printer driver 1010 in Example 6 when the printer driver 1010 has
the delete processing section 1016;
FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a functional structure of the
printer driver in Example 7;
FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a functional structure of the
printer in Example 7;
FIG. 18 is a flow chart showing a flow of processing to provide a
printer driver 1020 by a printer 1030;
FIG. 19 is a flow chart showing a flow of print processing by the
printer driver 1020 and the printer 1030;
FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing a functional structure of the
printer driver in Example 8;
FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing a functional structure of the
printer in Example 8; and
FIG. 22 is a flow chart showing a flow of print processing by a
printer driver 1040 and a printer 1050.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the device usage limiting method, apparatus and
program according to the present invention will be described in
detail with reference to the accompanying figures.
EXAMPLE 1
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the network
according to Example 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the network of Example
1 has plural terminal devices 1 (1-1 to 1-n) connected to a device
2 over a network 4.
The terminal devices 1 are computers such as PCs which operate as
clients, run a variety of application software and execute a
variety of processing by the device 2. When the usage of the device
2 is limited, the terminal devices 1 cannot use the device 2
because the device driver of the device 2 is uninstalled by the
processing described later. The device 2 is a network device such
as a printer, a facsimile, a scanner or the like.
Here, a restriction on usage of the device in Example 1 will be
described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional structure
of a device driver 10 which is installed on the terminal device 1
and a functional structure of the device 2.
As shown in FIG. 2, the device driver 10 comprises a user
information acquisition section 11, a user information comparison
section 12, and a delete processing execution section 13. The
device 2 comprises a user information management section 21 and a
user information transmission section 22.
The user information acquisition section 11 obtains user
information indicating a usage-permitted user of the device 2 from
the device 2. The user information comparison section 12 obtains
user information of the terminal device 1 in which the device
driver 10 is installed and compares the user information obtained
from the terminal device 1 with the user information obtained by
the user information acquisition section 11. If it is found as a
result of the comparison by the user information comparison section
12 that the user information obtained from the terminal device 1 is
not contained in the user information obtained from the device 2,
the delete processing execution section 13 makes the terminal
device 1 uninstall the device driver 10.
The user information management section 21 manages the user
information on the user registered as the usage-permitted user of
the device 2. In response to the request from the user information
acquisition section 11 of the device driver 10, the user
information transmission section 22 sends the user information
managed by the user information management section 21 to the device
driver 10.
The device 2 can be a conventionally used device if it can register
the usage-permitted user in it.
Then, management processing of the device driver configured as
shown in FIG. 2 will be described. FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing a
flow of the device driver management processing.
When activated, the device driver 10 sends a user information
obtaining request to the device 2 (step 101). The device 2 responds
to the obtaining request, the user information transmission section
22 sends user information (step 102), and the user information
acquisition section 11 obtains the user information (step 103).
Subsequently, the user information comparison section 12 obtains
the user information of the terminal device 1 in which the device
driver 10 is installed and compares the user information obtained
from the terminal device 1 with the user information obtained by
the user information acquisition section 11 (step 104). When it is
found as a compared result that the user information obtained from
the terminal device 1 agrees with any of the user information
obtained from the device 2 (YES in step 105), the device driver
management processing is terminated without conducting any
processing. But, when the user information obtained from the
terminal device 1 does not agree with any of the user information
obtained from the device 2 (NO in step 105), the delete processing
execution section 13 makes the terminal device 1 uninstall the
device driver 10 (step 106) and terminates the device driver
management processing.
EXAMPLE 2
Then, Example 2 will be described. The network of Example 2 has the
same configuration as in Example 1 as shown in FIG. 1.
Here, a restriction on usage of the device in Example 2 will be
described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a functional structure
of a device driver 210 which is installed in a terminal device
corresponding to the terminal device 1 and a functional structure
of a device 202 corresponding to the device 2.
As shown in FIG. 4, the device driver 210 comprises an instruction
receiving section 211 and an instruction execution section 212. The
device 202 comprises a user information extraction section 221, a
user information management section 222, a user information
comparison section 223 and an instruction transmission section
224.
The instruction receiving section 211 receives an instruction
transmitted from the device 202. The instruction execution section
212 executes the instruction received by the instruction receiving
section 211. Specifically, the instruction receiving section 211
receives a delete instruction instructing uninstallation of the
device driver 210, and the instruction execution section 212 makes
a terminal device having the device driver 210 installed uninstall
the device driver 210 according to the delete instruction.
The user information extraction section 221 extracts user
information indicating the user of the terminal device in which the
device driver 210 is installed from a job sent from the device
driver 210. The user information management section 222 manages the
user information on the user registered as the usage-permitted user
of the device 202. The user information comparison section 223
compares the user information extracted by the user information
extraction section 221 with the user information managed by the
user information management section 222. If it is found as a result
of the comparison made by the user information comparison section
222 that the user information extracted by the user information
extraction section 221 is not contained in the user information
managed by the user information management section 222, the
instruction transmission section 224 sends a delete instruction
instructing the uninstallation of the device driver 210 to the
device driver 210.
Then, management processing of the device driver configured as
shown in FIG. 4 will be described. FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a
flow of the device driver management processing.
For example, when the device 202 is a printer, first, the device
driver 210 generates a print job according to a print instruction
from unshown application software or the like. When the generated
job is sent to the device 202 (step 301), the user information
extraction section 221 of the device 202 extracts the user
information indicating the user of the terminal device in which the
device driver 210 is installed from the job (step 302).
Subsequently, the user information comparison section 223 compares
the user information extracted by the user information extraction
section 221 with the user information managed by the user
information management section 222 (step 303). If it is found as a
result of the comparison that the user information extracted by the
user information extraction section 221 agrees with any of the user
information managed by the user information management section 222
(YES in step 304), the device driver management processing is
terminated without conducting any processing. At this time, the
device driver 210 does not receive any delete instruction (NO in
step 306), so that the device driver 210 also terminates the device
driver management processing without conducting any processing.
Meanwhile, if the user information extracted by the user
information extraction section 221 does not agree with any of the
user information managed by the user information management section
222 (NO in step 304), the instruction transmission section 224
sends a delete instruction to the device driver 210 (step 305).
When this delete instruction is received by the instruction
receiving section 211 (YES in step 306), the instruction execution
section 212 makes the terminal device in which the device driver
210 is installed uninstall the device driver 210 (step 307) and
terminates the device driver management processing.
EXAMPLE 3
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a network in
Example 3. As shown in FIG. 6, the network of Example 3 has plural
terminal devices 401 (401-1 to 401-n) which are connected to a
device 402 and a management device 403 over a network 404.
The terminal devices 401 are computers such as PCs which operate as
clients, run a variety of application software and execute a
variety of processing using the device 402. When the usage of the
device 402 is limited, the terminal devices 401 cannot use the
device 402 because the device driver of the device 402 is
uninstalled by the processing described later.
The device 402 is a network device such as a printer, a facsimile,
a scanner or the like. The device 402 can be a conventionally used
one without any modification.
The management device 403 is a computer such as a server and
manages the device driver installed in the terminal device 401.
Here, a restriction on usage of the device in Example 3 will be
described. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a functional structure
of a device driver 410 which is installed on the terminal device
401 and a functional structure of the management device 403.
As shown in FIG. 7, the device driver 410 comprises a user
information acquisition section 411, a user information comparison
section 412, and a delete processing execution section 413. The
management device 403 comprises a user information management
section 431 and a user information transmission section 432.
The user information acquisition section 411 obtains user
information indicating a usage-permitted user of the device 402
from the management device 403. The user information comparison
section 412 obtains user information of the terminal device 401 in
which the device driver 410 is installed and compares the user
information obtained from the terminal device 401 with the user
information obtained by the user information acquisition section
411. If it is found as a result of the comparison by the user
information comparison section 412 that the user information
obtained from the terminal device 401 is not contained in the user
information obtained from the management device 403, the delete
processing execution section 413 makes the terminal device 401
uninstall the device driver 410.
The user information management section 431 manages the user
information on the user registered as the usage-permitted user of
the device 402. In response to the request from the user
information acquisition section 411 of the device driver 410, the
user information transmission section 432 sends the user
information managed by the user information management section 431
to the device driver 410.
Then, management processing of the device driver configured as
shown in FIG. 7 will be described. FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing a
flow of the device driver management processing.
When activated, the device driver 410 sends a user information
obtaining request to the management device 403 (step 501). The
management device 403 responds to the obtaining request, the user
information transmission section 432 sends user information (step
502), and the user information acquisition section 411 obtains the
user information (step 503).
Subsequently, the user information comparison section 412 obtains
the user information of the terminal device 401 in which the device
driver 410 is installed and compares the user information obtained
from the terminal device 401 with the user information obtained by
the user information acquisition section 411 (step 504). When it is
found as a result of the comparison that the user information
obtained from the terminal device 401 agrees with any of the user
information obtained from the management device 403 (YES in step
405), the device driver management processing is terminated without
conducting any processing. But, when the user information obtained
from the terminal device 401 does not agree with any of the user
information obtained from the management device 403 (NO in step
405), the delete processing execution section 413 makes the
terminal device 401 uninstall the device driver 410 (step 506) and
terminates the device driver management processing.
EXAMPLE 4
Then, Example 4 will be described. The network of Example 4 has the
same configuration as in Example 3 as shown in FIG. 6.
A restriction on usage of the device in Example 4 will be
described. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a functional structure
of a device driver 610 which is installed in a terminal device
corresponding to the terminal device 401 and a functional structure
of a management device 603 corresponding to the management device
403.
As shown in FIG. 9, the device driver 610 comprises an instruction
receiving section 611 and an instruction execution section 612. The
management device 603 comprises a user information extraction
section 631, a user information management section 632, a user
information comparison section 633 and an instruction transmission
section 634.
The instruction receiving section 611 receives an instruction sent
from the management device 603. The instruction execution section
612 executes the instruction received by the instruction receiving
section 611. Specifically, the instruction receiving section 611
receives a delete instruction, which instructs uninstallation of
the device driver 610, and the instruction execution section 612
makes a terminal device, in which the device driver 610 is
installed, uninstall the device driver 610 according to the delete
instruction.
The user information extraction section 631 monitors a job sent
from the device driver 610 to the device 602 and extracts user
information indicating the user of the terminal device in which the
device driver 610 is installed. The user information management
section 632 manages the user information on the user registered as
the usage-permitted user of the device 602. The user information
comparison section 633 compares the user information extracted by
the user information extraction section 631 with the user
information managed by the user information management section 632.
If it is found as a result of the comparison made by the user
information comparison section 632 that the user information
extracted by the user information extraction section 631 is not
contained in the user information managed by the user information
management section 632, the instruction transmission section 634
sends a delete instruction instructing the uninstallation of the
device driver 610 to the device driver 610.
Then, management processing of the device driver configured as
shown in FIG. 9 will be described. FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing
a flow of the device driver management processing.
For example, when the device 602 is a printer, first, the device
driver 610 generates a print job according to a print instruction
from unshown application software or the like. When the generated
job is sent to the device 602 (step 701), the user information
extraction section 631 of the management device 603 monitors the
job and extracts the user information indicating the user of the
terminal device in which the device driver 610 is installed (step
702).
Subsequently, the user information comparison section 633 compares
the user information extracted by the user information extraction
section 631 with the user information managed by the user
information management section 632 (step 703). If it is found as a
result of the comparison that the user information extracted by the
user information extraction section 631 agrees with any of the user
information managed by the user information management section 632
(YES in step 704), the device driver management processing is
terminated without conducting any processing. At this time, the
device driver 610 does not receive any delete instruction (NO in
step 706), so that the device driver 610 also terminates the device
driver management processing without conducting any processing.
Meanwhile, if the user information extracted by the user
information extraction section 631 does not agree with any of the
user information managed by the user information management section
632 (NO in step 704), the instruction transmission section 634
sends a delete instruction to the device driver 610 (step 705).
When this delete instruction is received by the instruction
receiving section 611 (YES in step 706), the instruction execution
section 612 makes the terminal device in which the device driver
610 is installed uninstall the device driver 610 (step 707) and
terminates the device driver management processing.
EXAMPLE 5
Example 5 is an example of applying the present invention to a
device driver. Here, a printer driver will be described as an
example. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a functional structure
of the printer driver in Example 5.
As shown in FIG. 11, a printer driver 1010 comprises a print
request receiving section 1011, a PDL generation section 1012, a
job sending section 1013, a printability judging section 1014, a
printability information holding section 1015, and a delete
processing section 1016. The printer driver 1010 is actually
software running on a PC (personal computer) and realized by
installing a program for realizing the printer driver in the PC or
the like and running the program by the PC or the like.
The print request receiving section 1011 receives a print request
from application software or the like, which runs on a PC or the
like having the printer driver 1010 installed. The PDL generation
section 1012 generates a PDL (page description language) according
to document data or the like given from the application software or
the like. The job sending section 1013 sends a print job containing
the PDL generated by the PDL generation section 1012 to an unshown
printer. The PC or the like in which the printer driver 1010 is
installed and the printer may be connected over a network or may be
local-connected by a parallel cable or a serial cable.
The printability judging section 1014 uses the printer driver 1010
to judge printability, namely job sendability by the printer driver
1010. This printability is judged according to a counter value held
by the printability information holding section 1015. The
printability information holding section 1015 holds the counter
value as printability information. The counter value is determined
to be a predetermined value at the time of installation of the
printer driver and later reduced depending on the number of pages
requested to be printed. The printability information holding
section 1015 is not always configured as part of the printer driver
1010 but may be configured within a storage device of the PC or the
like in which the printer driver 1010 is installed.
When the printability judging section 1014 judges that it is
impossible to use the printer driver 1010 for printing, the delete
processing section 1016 uninstalls the printer driver 1010. But,
the delete processing section 1016 is not always a required
component.
Then, an operation of the printer driver 1010 will be described.
First, the operation of a case that the printer driver 1010 does
not have the delete processing section 1016 will be described. FIG.
12 is a flow chart showing a flow of the operation of the printer
driver 1010.
The printer driver 1010 is activated when a print request is
generated from an application or the like of the PC or the like in
which the printer driver 1010 is installed, and the print request
receiving section 1011 accepts the print request (step 1101). When
the print request receiving section 1011 accepts the print request,
the PDL generation section 1012 generates a PDL according to the
print request, but the PDL generation section 1012 makes the
printability judging section 1014 judge printability before the
generation of the PDL. If the counter value held by the
printability information holding section 1015 is not zero (NO in
step 1102), the printability judging section 1014 notifies the PDL
generation section 12 that printing can be made, and the PDL
generation section 1012 generates page data according to the notice
(step 1103). And, when the generated page data is sent to the
unshown printer by the job sending section 1013 (step 1104), the
PDL generation section 1012 notifies it to the printability judging
section 1014, and the printability judging section 1014 subtracts 1
from the counter value held by the printability information holding
section 1015 (step 1105). Then, if there is a next page (YES in
step 1106), the process returns back to the step 1102, and the PDL
generation section 1012 repeats the same processing, but if there
is no next page (NO in step 1106), the printer driver 1010
terminates the processing.
Meanwhile, if the counter value held by the printability
information holding section 1015 is zero (YES instep 1102), the
printability judging section 1014 notifies the PDL generation
section 1012 that printing cannot be made, and the PDL generation
section 1012 having received it stops the print processing, and the
printer driver 1010 terminates the processing.
Then, an operation when the printer driver 1010 has the delete
processing section 1016 will be described. FIG. 13 is a flow chart
showing a flow of the operation of the printer driver 1010 when the
printer driver 1010 has the delete processing section 1016.
The printer driver 1010 is activated when a print request is
generated from an application or the like of the PC or the like in
which the printer driver 1010 is installed, and the print request
receiving section 1011 receives the print request (step 1151). When
the print request receiving section 1011 receives the print
request, the PDL generation section 1012 generates a PDL according
to the print request and generates first page data (step 1152).
When the generated page data is sent to the unshown printer by the
job sending section 1013 (step 1153), the PDL generation section
1012 notifies it to the printability judging section 1014, and the
printability judging section 1014 subtracts 1 from the counter
value held by the printability information holding section 1015
(step 1154).
As a result, if the counter value held by the printability
information holding section 1015 does not become zero (NO in step
1155) and there is a next page (YES in step 1156), the process
returns to the step 1152, and the same processing is repeated, but
if there is no next page (NO in step 1156), the printer driver 1010
terminates the processing.
Meanwhile, if the subtraction of 1 by the printability judging
section 1014 from the counter value held by the printability
information holding section 1015 results in that the counter value
held by the printability information holding section 1015 becomes
zero (YES in step 1155), the delete processing section 1016
uninstalls the printer driver 1010 (step 1157), and the printer
driver 1010 terminates the processing.
Here, the delete processing section 1016 has an arbitrary
structure, but when the printer driver 1010 does not have the
delete processing section 1016, a tool or the like for changing the
counter value held by the printability information holding section
1015 to a predetermined value is separately generated, and the
generated tool can be used to reuse the printer driver 1010.
At the time of the print processing by the printer driver 1010,
processing for verification or the like is not particularly
performed, but verification is considered unnecessary in a case
where, for example, it is temporarily used at an event hole or the
like or where a PC in which the printer driver 1010 is previously
installed is rented to a user.
EXAMPLE 6
Example 6 is an example of applying the present invention to a
printer driver in the same manner as in Example 5 except that
printing is limited according to not the number of pages but the
number of issued jobs. In Example 6, the printer driver is
configured in the same way as in Example 5, so that its operation
only will be described. The operation will be described with
reference to FIG. 11 if necessary.
First, an operation when the printer driver 1010 does not have the
delete processing section 1016 will be described. FIG. 14 is a flow
chart showing a flow of the operation of the printer driver 1010 in
Example 6.
The printer driver 1010 is activated when a print request is
generated from an application or the like of a PC or the like in
which the printer driver 1010 is installed, and the print request
receiving section 1011 receives the print request (step 1201). When
the print request receiving section 1011 receives the print
request, the PDL generation section 1012 generates a PDL according
to the print request. The PDL generation section 1012 makes the
printability judging section 1014 judge printability before the
generation of the PDL. When the counter value held by the
printability information holding section 1015 is not zero (NO in
step 1202), the printability judging section 1014 notifies the PDL
generation section 1012 that printing is possible, and the PDL
generation section 1012 generates print data of all pages
accordingly (step 1203). And, the generated print data is sent by
the job sending section 1013 to the unshown printer (step 1204),
the PDL generation section 1012 notifies it to the printability
judging section 1014, which subtracts 1 from the counter value held
by the printability information holding section 1015 (step 1205),
and the printer driver 1010 terminates the processing.
Meanwhile, if the counter value held by the printability
information holding section 1015 is zero (YES in step 1202), the
printability judging section 1014 notifies the PDL generation
section 1012 that printing is impossible. The PDL generation
section 1012 having received it stops the print processing, and the
printer driver 1010 terminates the processing.
Then, an operation when the printer driver 1010 has the delete
processing section 1016 will be described. FIG. 15 is a flow chart
showing a flow of the operation of the printer driver 1010 in
Example 6 where the printer driver 1010 has the delete processing
section 1016.
The printer driver 1010 is activated when a print request is
generated from an application or the like of a PC or the like in
which the printer driver 1010 is installed, and the print request
receiving section 1011 receives the print request (step 1251). When
the print request receiving section 1011 receives the print
request, the PDL generation section 1012 generates print data of
all pages according to the print request (step 1252). And, the
generated print data is sent by the job sending section 1013 to the
unshown printer (step 1253), the PDL generation section 1012
notifies it to the printability judging section 1014, and the
printability judging section 1014 subtracts 1 from the counter
value held by the printability information holding section 1015
(step 1254).
As a result, if the counter value held by the printability
information holding section 1015 does not become zero (NO in step
1255), the printer driver 1010 terminates the processing, but if
the counter value held by the printability information holding
section 1015 becomes zero (YES in step 1255), the delete processing
section 1016 uninstalls the printer driver 1010 (step 1256), and
the printer driver 1010 terminates the processing.
Here, the delete processing section 1016 has an arbitrary
structure, but when the printer driver 1010 does not have the
delete processing section 1016, a tool or the like for changing the
counter value held by the printability information holding section
1015 to a prescribed value is separately generated, and the
generated tool can be used to reuse the printer driver 1010.
EXAMPLE 7
Example 7 is an example of applying the present invention to a
device, and a printer will be described as an example. FIG. 16 is a
block diagram showing a functional structure of the printer driver
in Example 7, and FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a functional
structure of the printer in Example 7.
As shown in FIG. 16, a printer driver 1020 comprises a print
request receiving section 1021, a PDL generation section 1022, a
job sending section 1023, a verification information adding section
1024, and a delete processing section 1025. The printer driver 1020
is actually software running on a PC (personal computer) or the
like and realized by installing a program for realizing the printer
driver in the PC or the like and running the program on the PC or
the like.
The print request receiving section 1021 receives a print request
from application software or the like running on the PC or the like
in which the printer driver 1020 is installed. The PDL generation
section 1022 generates a PDL (page description language) according
to document data or the like given from the application software or
the like. The job sending section 1023 sends a print job containing
the PDL generated by the PDL generation section 1022 to a printer
1030 shown in FIG. 17. The verification information adding section
1024 adds verification information to the job sent by the job
sending section 1023. When the printer 1030 rejects the processing
of the job sent by the job sending section 1023, the delete
processing section 1025 uninstalls the printer driver 1020. But,
the delete processing section 1025 is not always a necessary
component. When the printer driver 1020 does not have the delete
processing section 1025, it has the same structure as that of a
conventional printer driver that verification information can be
added to the job.
As shown in FIG. 17, the printer 1030 comprises a driver provision
section 1031, an account management section 1032, a job receiving
section 1033, a printability judging section 1034 and a job
execution section 1035.
The driver provision section 1031 provides a PC or the like, which
uses the printer 1030, with the printer driver 1020 and operates as
a Web server for example. The account management section 1032
manages the account of each printer driver 1020 (also user)
identified according to the verification information added by the
verification information adding section 1024 of the printer driver
1020 and manages the number of printed sheets or the number of job
executions usable by the printer driver 1020. The job receiving
section 1033 receives the job sent by the job sending section 1023
of the printer driver 1020. The printability judging section 1034
judges executability of the job received by the job receiving
section 1033 according to the account managed by the account
management section 1032. The job execution section 1025 executes a
job, which is judged executable by the printability judging section
1034, among the jobs received by the job receiving section 1033 and
forms an image on a sheet or the like.
Then, operations of the printer driver 1020 and the printer 1030
will be described. First, an operation to provide the printer
driver 1020 by the printer 1030 will be described. FIG. 18 is a
flow chart showing a flow of the processing to provide the printer
driver 1020 by the printer 1030.
First, a user uses a Web browser from a PC or the like in which the
printer driver 1020 is desired to be installed to access the
printer 1030 to make a driver acquisition request (step 1301). At
this time, the user notifies the printer 1030 of verification
information such as a previously issued ID, password or the like
according to the instruction from the printer 1030.
Meanwhile, when the driver provision section 1031 receives a driver
acquisition request from the PC or the like (YES in step 1321), the
printer 1030 performs verification processing according to the
verification information notified by the Web browser of the PC or
the like (step 1322). As a result, if verification is successive
(YES in step 1323), the account management section 1032 generates
an account according to the verification information (step 1324),
and the driver provision section 1031 provides the printer driver
1020 (step 1325). If the verification processing results in a
failure of verification (NO in step 1323), the driver provision
section 1031 notifies the Web browser of the PC or the like of an
error (step 1326).
If there is a response from the printer 1030 (YES in step 1302),
and when the PC or the like can obtain the printer driver 1020 (YES
in step 1303), it installs the obtained printer driver 1020 in the
PC or the like (step 1304). If the printer driver 1020 cannot be
obtained, it means an error, so that the processing is
terminated.
Subsequently, operations of the printer driver 1020 and the printer
1030 at the time of a print request will be described. FIG. 19 is a
flow chart showing a flow of print processing by the printer driver
1020 and the printer 1030. Here, it is described that the printer
1030 judges the printability of the job from the printer driver
1020 according to the number of job executions, but printability
may be judged according to the number of printed pages in the same
manner as in Example 6.
The printer driver 1020 is activated when a print request is
generated from an application or the like of a PC or the like in
which the printer driver 1020 is installed, and when the print
request receiving section 1021 receives the print request, the PDL
generation section 1022 generates a PDL according to the print
request, and the job sending section 1023 sends a job, which
includes the generated PDL and has verification information added
by the verification information adding section 1024, to the printer
1030 (step 1351). At this time, the verification information added
by the verification information adding section 1024 is the
verification information used at the time of obtaining the printer
driver 1020.
Meanwhile, when the job receiving section 1033 in the printer 1030
receives as a print request the job sent from the printer driver
1020 (YES in step 1371), the printability judging section 1034
performs verification processing according to verification
information contained in the job and an account managed by the
account management section 1032 (step 1372). When the
authentication verification processing confirms the identity (YES
in step 1373), and if the counter value of the account managed by
the account management section 1032 is not zero (NO in step 1374),
the printability judging section 1034 allows the job receiving
section 1033 to execute the job, and the job receiving section 1033
makes the job execution section 1035 execute the job, namely the
print processing (step 1375). When the print processing is
completed, the job receiving section 1033 notifies it to the
printability judging section 1034, and the printability judging
section 1034 subtracts 1 from the counter value of the account
managed by the account management section 1032 (step 1376). The job
receiving section 1033 notifies the completion of printing to the
printer driver 1020 (step 1377).
And, when the counter value of the account managed by the account
management section 1032 is zero (YES in step 1374) or the
verification fails (NO in step 1373), the printability judging
section 1034 notifies the job receiving section 1033 that the job
cannot be executed, and the job receiving section 1033 having
received it sends a print rejection notice to the printer driver
1020 (step 1378).
When the printer driver 1020 receives a response from the printer
1030 (YES in step 1352) and the response is a notice of the
completion of printing (YES in step 1353), the processing is
terminated, but when the response is a print rejection notice (NO
in step 1353), the delete processing section 1025 uninstalls the
printer driver 1020 (step 1354) and terminates the processing. When
the printer driver 1020 does not have the driver delete processing
section 1025, the processing is terminated when the response from
the printer 1030 is received.
In the above-described operation example, if the job is
unexecutable, the printer 1030 notifies the print rejection (step
1378) but may notify a driver deletion instruction to the printer
driver 1020 instead of the print rejection notice. Where the driver
deletion instruction is notified, if the counter value becomes zero
when the counter was subtracted in the processing of step 1376, the
driver deletion instruction can be issued at that time.
As described above, the printer 1030 can judge printability not
according to the number of job executions but the number of printed
pages, but if the number of PDL pages contained in the job is
larger than the number of printable pages, it is possible to make
setting so that the job execution is rejected or the number of
printable pages only is printed.
Here, the delete processing section 1025 has an arbitrary
configuration, but if the printer driver 1020 does not have the
delete processing section 1025, the printer driver 1020 can be
reused by changing the counter value of the account managed by the
account management section 1032 of the printer 1030 to a prescribed
value.
EXAMPLE 8
Example 8 is an example of applying the present invention to a
device, and a printer will be described as an example.
FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing a functional structure of the
printer driver in Example 8, and FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing
a functional structure of the printer in Example 8.
As shown in FIG. 20, a printer driver 1040 comprises a print
request receiving section 1041, a PDL generation section 1042, a
job sending section 1043, and a delete processing section 1044. The
printer driver 1040 is actually software which runs on a PC
(personal computer) or the like and realized by installing a
program for realizing the printer driver in the PC or the like and
running the program by the PC or the like.
The print request receiving section 1041 receives a print request
from application software or the like which runs on a PC or the
like having the printer driver 1040 installed. The PDL generation
section 1042 generates a PDL (page description language) according
to document data or the like given from the application software or
the like. The job sending section 1043 sends a print job containing
the PDL generated by the PDL generation section 1042 to a printer
1050 shown in FIG. 21. When the printer 1050 rejects the processing
of the job sent by the job sending section 1043, the delete
processing section 1044 uninstalls the printer driver 1040. But,
the delete processing section 1044 is not always a necessary
component. When the printer driver 1040 does not have the delete
processing section 1044, it has the same structure as that of a
conventional printer driver.
As shown in FIG. 21, the printer 1050 comprises a job receiving
section 1051, a printability judging section 1052, an account
management section 1053 and a job execution section 1054.
The job receiving section 1051 receives the job sent by the job
sending section 1043 of the printer driver 1040. The printability
judging section 1052 judges executability of the job received by
the job receiving section 1051 according to the account managed by
the account management section 1053. The account management section
1053 manages identification information, e.g., the account of each
MAC (Media Access Control) address of the network interface
possessed by the PC or the like in which the printer driver 1040 is
installed and manages the number of printed sheets or the number of
job executions usable by each printer driver 1040. The job
execution section 1054 executes a job, which is judged to be
executable by the printability judging section 1052, among the jobs
received by the job receiving section 1051 and forms an image on a
sheet or the like.
Then, operations of the printer driver 1040 and the printer 1050
will be described. FIG. 22 is a flow chart showing a flow of print
processing by the printer driver 1040 and the printer 1050. Here,
the description will be made assuming that the printer 1050 judges
the printability of the job from the printer driver 1040 according
to the number of executed times of jobs. But, the printability can
also be judged according to the number of printing pages in the
same way as in Example 6.
The printer driver 1040 is activated when a print request is
generated from an application or the like of a PC or the like in
which the printer driver 1040 is installed, and when the print
request receiving section 1041 receives the print request, the PDL
generation section 1042 generates a PDL according to the print
request, and the job sending section 1043 sends a job including the
generated PDL to the printer 1050 (step 1401).
Meanwhile, when the job receiving section 1051 in the printer 1050
receives as a print request the job sent from the printer driver
1040 (YES in step 1421), the job receiving section 1051 obtains as
identification information the MAC address of the network interface
from the PC or the like which has sent the job (step 1422).
Subsequently, the printability judging section 1052 checks whether
an account corresponding to the obtained identification information
is managed by the account management section 1053, and if not
managed (NO in step 1423), the printability judging section 1052
generates an account corresponding to the obtained identification
information and makes the account management section 1053 manage
the account (step 1424). And, the printability judging section 1052
allows the job receiving section 1051 to execute the job, and the
job receiving section 1052 makes the job execution section 1054
execute the job, namely the print processing (step 1425). When the
print processing is completed, the job receiving section 1051
notifies it to the printability judging section 1052, and the
printability judging section 1052 subtracts 1 from the counter
value of the account managed by the account management section 1052
(step 1426). The job receiving section 1051 notifies the completion
of printing to the printer driver 1040 (step 1427).
When the account corresponding to the obtained identification
information is managed by the account management section 1053 (YES
in step 1423), and if the counter value of the account managed by
the account management section 1053 is not zero (NO in step 1428),
the printability judging section 1052 allows the job receiving
section 1051 to execute the job. And, the job receiving section
1051 makes the job execution section 1054 execute the job, namely
the print processing (step 1425). When the print processing is
completed, the job receiving section 1051 notifies it to the
printability judging section 1052, and the printability judging
section 1052 subtracts 1 from the counter value of the account
managed by the account management section 1053 (step 1426). And,
the job receiving section 1051 notifies the printer driver 1040
that the printing is completed (step 1427).
When the counter value of the account managed by the account
management section 1053 is zero (YES in step 1428), the
printability judging section 1052 notifies the job receiving
section 1051 that the job cannot be executed, and the job receiving
section 1051 having received it sends a print rejection notice to
the printer driver 1040 (step 1429).
The printer driver 1040 having received the response from the
printer 1050 (YES in step 1402) terminates the processing if the
response is a print completion notice (YES in step 1403), but if
the response is a print rejection notice (NO in step 1403), the
delete processing section 1044 uninstalls the printer driver 1040
(step 1404) and terminates the processing. When the printer driver
1040 does not have the driver delete processing section 1044, it
terminates the processing at the time of receiving the response
from the printer 1040.
In the above-described operation example, if the job is
unexecutable, the printer 1040 notifies the print rejection (step
1429) but may notify a driver deletion instruction to the printer
driver 1040 instead of the print rejection notice. Where the driver
deletion instruction is notified, if the counter value becomes zero
when the counter was subtracted in the processing of step 1426, the
driver deletion instruction can be issued at that time.
As described above, the printer 1050 can judge printability not
according to the number of job executions but the number of printed
pages, but if the number of PDL pages contained in the job is
larger than the number of printable pages, it is possible to make
setting so that job execution is rejected or the number of
printable pages only is printed.
Here, the delete processing section 1044 has an arbitrary
configuration, but if the printer driver 1040 does not have the
delete processing section 1044, the printer driver 1040 can be
reused by changing the counter value of the account managed by the
account management section 1053 of the printer 1030 to a prescribed
value.
* * * * *